About us
Our Story
The meaning of Unoa is rooted in the Greek word “Eunoia” meaning “beautiful thinking” and embodies our vision; the commitment to produce and consume responsibly, eliminate harmful waste and harmonise with our natural resources. Our founder, Aamena, is a health + fitness enthusiast from the small seaside city of Brighton with one big dream; to create exceedingly soft and versatile organic leisure and active wear at friendly prices for men + women, whilst saving the planet at the same time! Sounds like a big ask? Well we know Rome wasn’t built in a day but by embracing individuality, championing health + wellbeing and caring for our environment, we think it’s a pretty good start!
We specialise in and predominantly source sustainable organic cotton and are very proud of the fact that 95% of the fabrics used in our latest collection are organic.
We take immense care to ensure that our supply chain is as transparent as possible and that the workers behind our garments are paid a fair living wage and treated with respect and dignity.
We hope to become more even more sustainable as we continue to grow and would love to share our slow-fashion journey with yours.
Our Founder and Heritage
Although we are extremely proud to be a British brand based in the beautiful town of Brighton, we are also very close to our roots. Our founder, Aamena, is of Pakistani origin, (her mother Naheed and father Hamid, both immigrated to the UK in the early 90s) and we source all of our organic cotton from Pakistan. Cotton is the prime crop of Pakistan and it is the 4th largest cotton producer in the world.The textile industry in Pakistan employs 38% of the manufacturing labour force and we are determined to support and innovate a more socially and enviormentally responsible industry in the country; the mainstay of Pakistan's economy.
We work closely with a factory in Pakistan and carry out biannual visits, where we actively witness women who are encouraged to take on fairly paid leadership positions through a female orientated training programme. Supported by the UNDP's (United Nations Development Programme) 'Master Trainer' scheme, aimed at gender promotion, the factory now houses a fully female run and led production floor, where all areas of production from stitching to quality control are implemented. This facilitates and supports our endeavour to create challenging and exciting opportunities for women in developing communities.
We would be more than happy to share more information about the talent behind Unoa so please get in touch to find out more.
Our Commitment to Organic Cotton
The vast majority of our stock comes from GOTS and OEKO-TEX® certified suppliers. GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) is the world’s leading textile processing standard for organic fibres. The standard aims to ensure the organic status of textiles from harvesting raw materials to socially and environmentally responsible manufacturing methods. OEKO-TEX® products are completely harmless to health and have been independently and vigorously tested for harmful substances.
Organic cotton makes a cleaner and healthier product that can be softer to touch but it is also good for the planet because it is completely natural, which means it comes from non-genetically modified plants and is grown without the use of harmful synthetic chemicals such as pesticides or fertilisers. Advantages of organic cotton and farming on our ecosystem include:
- Eliminates the risk of soil and groundwater contamination
- Preservation of biodiversity
- Eradicating residual chemicals present in non-organic cotton that can irritate skin
- Over 1.5 tons of CO2 is stored in the soil each year per acre that has been organically farmed, which leads to happier plants and happier people.
We actively support farmers who choose to farm organically and are very passionate about our involvement in sustainability and welfare projects. If you would like to work with us or want to find out more about our projects please contact info@unoa.co.uk